Revenge of the Wyatts
by Dana1
Summary: Sequel to Believe in Evolution. The Authority has been removed and Triple H is in jail but nothing is as perfect as it seems.
1. Prologue

Title: Revenge of the Wyatts  
Rating: PG  
Warnings: Violence  
Summary: Sequel to Believe in Evolution. The Authority has been removed and Triple H is in jail but nothing is as perfect as it seems.  
Author's note: Believe in Evolution is a must read fic or you'll be really confused considering how messed up I made all PPVs after WM. Though I did keep some of the results from Extreme Rules.  
Time frame: This starts about two months after the end of Believe in Evolution at Money in the Bank.  
Disclaimer: I own no one in this fic that you recognize.

Dean Ambrose could not stand still backstage as he waited for his entrance to walk out to do commentary. The WWE was in Boston Massachusetts for Money in the Bank and though he wasn't competing, he was still excited about the show.

"So Dean," Jerry Lawler said as he stood next to him, "how much longer are you out?"

Dean turned to the King with a smile on his face. "Doc said I should be back in the ring in a couple of weeks definitely back in time for Battleground. Can't wait! Been out wait too long."

Seth came over and slapped a hand on his shoulder. "We could certainly use you," he said as he adjusted the tag title over his shoulder.

"Dusty said I'd get a match for the US Title/Intercontinental Title when I'm cleared to wrestle," Dean said remembering how Triple H had taken his title from him in which had been the start that had been a nightmare of 2 weeks. "I'm ready for Barrett."

He heard his music playing. "Oops gotta go," he said as he pounded his fist on Seth's outstretched one. He went out the curtains and down the ramp. His ankle was still hurting and the stairs were hard to walk down. He hoped the physical therapy would help.

He sat down next to Jerry Lawler at the announce table and put the headset on. He was ready for tonight. The Shield was defending the tag titles in a four watch match with Rybaxel, Usos, and the Three Man Band team of Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal. Even though he wasn't in the match, he still thought of himself as a part of the Shield match.

They sat waiting for the pre-show match between Goldust and Cody Rhodes. He took his phone out when he heard a buzz and realized he had a text message. He jumped up when he saw it and started pacing.

"Dean are you okay," Lawler asked. Dean was known for being the lunatic fringe but there was still something unsettling about his reaction.

"No I'm not okay. Do I look okay?" He asked King. He threw his headset down and went backstage.

Cole and Lawler exchanged looks. What just happened?

In the back, Dean was met by Dusty Rhodes.

"Are you okay?"

"No I'm not okay!" He said pushing past him and went to his locker room. When he entered Seth and Roman stood up. He didn't say anything and just handed Seth the phone.

"Oh shit." Was all Seth said.

It said: Wyatt Family Released From Prison


	2. Calmed Down

Notes: Watched RAW tonight and I didn't even think of having Triple H do that to Dean Ambrose but Triple H had a different agenda in Believe in Evolution.

* * *

Seth handed Roman Dean's cellphone. Roman swore also. Dean started pacing again.

"Calm down," Seth said but Ambrose didn't hear him or ignored him. Seth grabbed him by the arm. "Dean get a hold of yourself. The Wyatts being released from prison doesn't mean they are coming after us." He looked at Roman who was calling their lawyer. He wished Roman was helping him calm Dean down because he didn't even believe what he was saying. In the courtroom when the bailiff was leading the Wyatts away, the look that Bray gave all three of them had scared them. They hadn't thought the Wyatts would be released from prison any time soon.

Seth set Ambrose down who looked ready to jump up again. Ambrose under normal circumstances could barely sit still.

The locker room door opened and Dusty Rhodes, Vicky Guerrero, and Vince McMahon came into the locker room. Vince had resumed his role as COO saying he had no idea what Stephanie and Hunter had been up to.

"Is he okay," Dusty asked pointing at Ambrose.

The Wyatts were released from prison," Seth explained.

Roman handed the phone to Dean who, thankfully, had calmed down enough to talk on the phone. "They were let out on a technicality. Something about the paperwork being wrong. A judge granted the appeal. Our lawyer is working with the police department to get the appeal overruled as the Wyatts were found to be a danger to society."

Dean handed the phone to Seth. "Okay," he said standing up. "I've got to go do commentary."

The others in the room stared at him. "Uh Dean if you don't feel like doing commentary tonight, we understand," Dusty said. "Cole and Lawler can handle it. We can put Alex Riley out there if necessary."

"Nope," Dean said. "I'm good to go," he left the locker room. The others exchanged looks.

* * *

If Dean was still unnerved by the Wyatts being released from jail, he didn't show it. He did his commentary with his usual style and really got into the four way for the tag team title which the Shield won. As Roman and Seth started to go over the railing to exit through the crowd, the lights started flickering but remained on. Roman and Seth continued to leave.

There was a beep from Ambrose's phone. He looked down and saw he had a text. He looked up and saw the first entrant's music for the Money in the Bank match, Alberto Del Rio, started to play. He opened the text. It read:

_you look like you've seen a ghost  
_  
dean looked down at the caller ID and grinned. He hit reply. _You scared me. What are doing watching a PPV?_

The reply: _AJ's wrestling so I thought I'd catch the show._

Dean's smile grew larger as he replied with _she threatened you didn't she? Not married yet and already whipped._

No response.

Dean smirked as he put his phone away. He didn't need Lawler or Cole looking at the screen. He didn't think he could explain their odd friendship that started the night of the Payback PPV. He'd have to ask him later if he was the one who had sent the text about the Wyatts. He couldn't check it because Roman had deleted it. He tried to focus on the rest of the match.

* * *

Two men sat in the bleachers not paying attention to the Money in the Bank ladder match. They appeared to be in their own little worlds. One of them had a camera but he wasn't pointing it at the ring. He pointed it towards the announcer's table and took a couple of pictures.

"You think that's enough," the man with the camera asked the other man.

"You got pictures of his partners right," he asked. The first man nodded. That should be enough. Let's go."

They got up and left the TD Garden. A few fans stared at them surprised that they were leaving in the middle of the show but most of the fans didn't notice them at all.

* * *

Notes: Sorry for the two short chapters. Hopefully I will have longer chapters coming soon. I'm sure you all can figure out who Androse's new friend is. Hey I made it through one new fic without him actually in it. That's a record for me.


	3. 14th Floor is Bad Luck?

Ambrose was not happy as he left ringside after Money in the Bank went off the air. The lights did not flicker or go out but he still felt uneasy by the text message he had received earlier that night. When he got back to the locker room, he found Seth and Roman showered, changed, and ready to go. He grabbed his stuff and they headed for the parking garage. Fans were waiting around for autographs. While Roman went to get the rental car, Seth and Dean signed a few autographs.

It was a quiet ride back to the hotel they were staying at with Ambrose fidgeting even more than usual.

"Hey Roman," Ambrose said, "did you see who sent the text about the Wyatts being released from prison?"

"No," Roman said, "I didn't recognize the phone number. Did you Seth?"

Seth shook his head. "Could have been anyone," he said. "I wouldn't worry about it. Shaw said the police were going to keep a close eye on the Wyatts and are trying to get a restraining order against them. We know Vince isn't going to rehire them so we have nothing to worry about."

Dean put his headphones in his ears and closed his eyes as they waited for the traffic jam at the arena to clear up. He felt his phone vibrate. He opened his eyes and looked down at his phone. He saw he had another text. He opened it and saw it was a picture of him doing commentary along with pictures of Seth and Roman. He looked at the phone number but didn't recognize it. He looked up and saw that Seth was also looking at his phone. "We've got a stalker."

"Or something like that," Seth agreed. "I forwarded it to Shaw." He said.

"What is it," Roman asked. He had been too busy driving to look at his phone.

"Someone sent a text with pictures from the show of the three of us. No words or anything. Could be from the same person who sent the first text."

"Maybe it's just a fan wanting to send us pictures," Roman suggested. Not that he believed that. Something was very wrong about this. They arrived at the hotel and they got out. They went to the front desk to check in. They hadn't had a chance to check in before the show.

The woman behind the desk took their names and searched her computer for their names. "I show a reservation for Colby Lopez and Joe Anoa'i but nothing for a Jon Good."

"That's ridiculous," Ambrose said, "WWE made a reservation for all three of us."

"I'm sorry sir I don't see one," she said, "but you are in luck. We do have a room open on another floor. I would suggest a rollaway but we ran out of those tonight. A lot of wrestling fans and their families staying there and wrestlers of course."

"Fine I'll take the other room," Ambrose said taking the key card from her.

The receptionist smiled at them. "Mr. Lopez and Mr. Anoa'i you are in room 518 and Mr. Good you are in room 1419. Have a nice stay."

"Top floor," Ambrose said and you guys are on the 5th floor."

"Crazy," Seth said, "wonder how the reservations got messed up?" He said as they waited for the elevator. They got in and pushed the buttons for 5 and 14.

A small child came into the elevator and selected 4. He saw the 14 lit and said, "I wouldn't want to stay on the 14th floor. My daddy said it's really the 13th floor and that means its bad luck."

"I'm not worried," Ambrose said. "I never let those kinds of things get to me."

"If you say so," the kid said as he got out of the elevator for his floor. The elevator went up another floor and Seth and Roman got out.

"If you get scared give us a call," Roman said with a grin.

Ambrose gave him a gesture he was glad that no one but the Shield was there to see. Seth and Roman laughed as the elevator doors closed.

Ambrose stood waiting as the elevator made its way to the 14th floor. Ambrose got out and rolled his suitcase down the hallway to the room. He unlocked the door and stepped inside. He started shivering as the room was freezing. He went over to the thermostat and turned it up as high as it went. He sat down on the bed and started flipping through the channels but there was nothing on. His phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hey it's me," Seth said. "Roman and I are going to an all-night diner. You want to come?"

"Yeah. I'll see you guys downstairs in five minutes," he said and hung up. The room was still freezing so he grabbed his leather jacket and took the elevator down to the lobby. He went up to the woman behind the desk. "I think the thermostat in room 1419 is broken. It's freezing inside."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I'll send up someone from maintenance to look into that."

"Thanks," Ambrose said as he turned away. He saw Seth and Roman leaving the elevators.

They exited the hotel and drove to the diner. A lot of superstars and divas were there eating a late night dinner. They were seated at a table next to Nikki Bella, John Cena, and Brie and Daniel Bryan. Brie and Daniel were eating salads while John and Nikki were eating steaks.

They talked about the show but no one mentioned the news about the Wyatts. They chatted for a long time before they realized what time it was and how early they all had to get up the next morning to drive to RAW.

The shield got in their rental car and Seth drove them back to the hotel. They said goodnight when the elevator stopped on the 5th floor and Seth and Roman got out. Ambrose leaned back resting his head on the back elevator wall hoping he didn't fall asleep. He was really tired. When the elevator dinged for the 14th floor he opened his eyes and exited the elevator. When he got to his room he found it was still freezing. There was a blinking red light on his phone indicating he had a message. He listened to it.

"Hello Mr. Good. This is Alice at the front desk. Unfortunately maintenance couldn't fix your thermostat tonight and there are no more rooms. Housekeeping will bring up some blankets. I hope you have a good night."

Ambrose hung up the phone and saw the blankets stacked at the foot of the bed. Maybe he should have listened to the kid when he said the 14th floor was bad luck.

* * *

Notes: Stay tuned next chapter for the rest of the Shield's night.


	4. Long Fall

Dean couldn't sleep. The room was just way too cold for that. As a wrestler who rose through the independents, he was used to sleeping in weird places. He got dressed and went downstairs figuring the lobby would be a lot warmer. He found the lobby deserted and sat down in an overstuffed chair. He took out his cellphone and texted the only person he knew would still be awake at this time of day. He texted:

_You awake?_

He got a response almost right away.

_Yeah just watching Walking Dead Reruns. You are still awake?_

Ambrose replied with:

_I can't sleep. The thermostat in my room is broken and it's freezing in there. Sitting in the lobby._

_Not your day. I'll have to ask AJ how her room was. She and Tamina are sharing a room there I think._

Ambrose started to yawn and closed his eyes. He probably could have slept on the floor of Seth and Roman's room but he was too tired to get up. He was asleep in no time.

* * *

Later in the morning Seth and Roman were getting ready to leave the hotel to drive to RAW. Seth was trying to reach Dean but received no answer. "I'm going up to his room," Seth said, "I'll see you downstairs."

He took his suitcase and left the room. He took the elevator to the 14th floor and knocked on the door.

He heard some grumbling and a few minutes later a blurry eyed Ambrose appeared at the door. He was wearing the same clothes he had slept in.

"You ready to go," Seth asked.

Ambrose blinked at him in confusion. He looked around at his surroundings. "How'd I get here?"

"We drove here last night," Seth said. "You okay?"

"But I fell asleep in the lobby last night. How'd I get to my room?"

"You were probably so tired last night that you don't remember going back to your room. Get your stuff. Roman and I will meet you down in the lobby," Seth said before turning around and leaving.

Ambrose turned around and went back into his hotel room feeling confused. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep in the lobby because his room was cold. He got dressed, brushed his hair and teeth, finished packing and went downstairs.

The elevator made many stops on the way down to the lobby as the elevator filled with wrestlers and non-wrestlers. He pulled his hat down further to not be noticed. The elevator stopped on the 4th floor and the little boy he met last night stepped into the elevator.

"So was the 14th floor bad luck," the little boy asked.

"No," he lied, "just different. I don't believe in the 13th floor being bad luck."

The kid flashed him a knowing smile and Ambrose was glad when the elevator arrived at the lobby. He waited for everyone to get out of the elevator before he exited. He found Roman and Seth waiting for him. He went to the front desk and checked out.

They walked to the rental car and Ambrose got in behind the wheel as it was his turn to drive. "We stopping for breakfast," he asked.

"We are behind schedule," Roman said. "We'll get something when we get to Hartford."

They drove a ways before Seth brought up what Ambrose had told him earlier. "So what happened last night? Have a couple of beers and forgot going to bed?"

"No Ambrose said, "maintenance couldn't fix the thermostat and the room was too cold to sleep in so I went down to the lobby and fell asleep. Next thing I know I'm in my hotel room and you're knocking on the door. I have no idea how I got there. Look on my phone. I was texting Punk last night from the lobby."

"We believe you," Seth said, "but maybe you were so tired last night that you don't remember going back to your room."

"I guess," Ambrose said though he didn't completely believe that. He'd never done that when he was sober. He hadn't had anything to drink. They didn't talk about it the rest of the drive.

* * *

When they arrived at XL Center they parked the car and walked backstage. Before they got to their locker room, Dr. Sampson came up to them. "Dean I want to do more x-rays on your ankle." He said. "I spoke with your doctor and he was saying you were almost ready to start wrestling again and Vince asked me to check also."

"Uh sure," Ambrose said before following Doc Sampson into the trainer's room. He went over to the x-ray machine and they x-rayed his ankle and did an MRI to check out the internal damage.

After all of the examinations were over, Doc Sampson came back in. "We won't have info about the MRIs for a couple of days but your ankle looks like it's completely healed. Do the stairs still bother you?"

"Yeah but I haven't tried in a week. Maybe I can walk down the stairs with Roman and Seth later and see how it feels."

"Doc Ammon will be at ringside so he can watch as well."

"Do you think I'll be ready for Battleground?"

"If the MRI results come back looking as good as the x-rays, I think that is a very good possibility. I know your doctor in Las Vegas thinks so."

"Thanks Doc," he said and left the trainer's room. He had a smile on his face. He was so ready to get back in the ring.

* * *

Since the trainer wanted to see how Ambrose's ankle felt when he walked down the stairs; he went the usual Shield entrance when his music started playing before RAW.

He walked down the stairs feeling just a slight twinge of pain every few steps. Just as he got to the half-way point, he felt someone push him and he went falling down the stairs.


	5. No One

Fans moved out of the way as Ambrose went tumbling down the stairs. He landed in a heap almost at the bottom. Security and Doc Ammon were at his side as Rollins and Reigns hurried down as well.

"Dean," Doc Ammon asked, "can you hear me?" He said as he started to carefully examine him. Ambrose just groaned. He took out his radio. "Need a board and a stretcher." He said into it.

Rollins and Reigns arrived and squatted down next to Ammon. "What happened," Seth asked.

"Ambrose tripped and fell down the stairs." Ammon said.

"Was pushed," Ambrose wheezed. "Someone pushed me from behind.

The security looked up at the fans who were jostling each other for a better view.

They loaded Ambrose onto a board. One of the security guards hurried ahead to open up the barricade. RAW's opening music started playing as Ambrose was loaded on a stretcher and wheeled to the back.

At the announce table Lawler and Cole stood there with their mouths open. The cameraman pointed at them letting them know they were live on the air. They quickly composed themselves.

"Fans before RAW went on the air, Dean Ambrose was making his way down the stairs when he tripped and fell. He's been taken to the back to have the trainers examine him. We will keep you posted."

* * *

Ambrose waited for Sampson to come back in. Other than feeling a little sore, he didn't think anything was broken. He knew that he was lucky.

Sampson and Dusty entered the trainer's rom. "This isn't what I meant when I suggested how your ankle felt," Sampson joked.

"Not my fault. Someone pushed me from behind." He saw the frown on Dusty's face. "What?"

"Dean we looked at the footage and there was no one near you. You couldn't have been pushed."

"I know what I felt," Ambrose said. "Someone pushed me from behind!" He said growing agitated.

"Dean you didn't remember going back to your room this morning," Seth reminded him. "Maybe he needs a CAT scan or something."

"There's nothing wrong with my head," he growled. Seth held his hands up. Ambrose turned his attention back to Sampson. "So how am I?"

"You'll be sore," Sampson said, "but I don't see any serious injuries and you will still probably be able to wrestle at Battleground."

Ambrose got up. "I'm going to do commentary," he said and left the trainer's room.

"So there's no head injury," Seth asked.

"None. He passed the IMPACT test. He's really lucky he didn't suffer any serious injuries."

"Thanks Doc," Roman said. He and Seth left the trainer's room. "I'm worried about Dean. I know he's always been a little crazy but something's wrong with him."

Dusty walked out of the Trainer's room.

"Can we see the videos of Dean walking out," Seth asked.

"Sure," he said leading them over to the Gorilla Position. "Seth and Roman want to see Dean's entrance," he said. The person sitting at the table keyed up the video. They stood there and watched it and then watched it in slow motion.

"No one touched Dean," Seth said in disbelief, "and yet he just fell down the stairs."

Roman didn't say anything but the look on his face said enough. There was something wrong with Ambrose.

* * *

"Everything is going according to plan," a man said into his cellphone after making sure no one was around to hear him. "We await your next orders. The Shield will go down in flames starting with Ambrose just like you requested.

* * *

Notes: Sorry for another short chapter. This was a glimpse into how far they will push Ambrose. It's not going to be easy for anyone in this story.


	6. Weird Man

Dean was silent as the Shield left the arena. He just stared out the window as Seth drove to the hotel.

"What happened tonight," Seth asked.

"I don't want to talk about it. You guys don't believe me anyway. Trust me I know the difference between tripping and being pushed. I don't know why you don't believe me."

"We've seen the video," Roman said, "Dean there was no one near you. Someone couldn't have pushed you."

Dean didn't reply. He couldn't believe his two best friends didn't believe him. His phone buzzed. He looked down and saw the unknown phone number had sent him a text. He opened it.

_Have a nice fall?_

Dean hit reply. _Who are you?_

Seth looked in the rearview mirror at Dean. "You okay man?"

"Got a text from Punk," he lied. "He was talking about how AJ is going overboard on the wedding plans." That part wasn't a complete lie. Punk had sent that text earlier that day when he was checking how he was. He knew he could have told them the truth, but why bother? They wouldn't have believed him anyway.

"Man I know that is," Roman said thinking about the planning for his own upcoming wedding.

The conversation then went in that direction and the events of the day were forgotten.

DDD  
Seth, Dean, and Roman shared a room with a rollaway. Seth and Rollin flipped a coin to determine who would get the rollaway as they insisted Ambrose take one of the beds and he wasn't in the mood to argue.

"My ankle's starting to hurt," Ambrose said standing up. "I'm going to get some ice."

"I can get it for you," Seth offered.

"I've got it," Ambrose said grabbing the ice bucket. He made his way to the ice machine and filled the bucket. He had the feeling he was being watched. He turned around but didn't see anyone. He went back to the room. He put the ice in a towel and sat down on his bed before placing the ice on his ankle.

Seth and Roman put their jackets on. "We're going to go get something to eat," Roman said. Come join us."

"No I'm tired and just wanna lie down. Can you guys bring me back something."

"Sure," Seth said and they left.

Dean lay back on the bed and turned the TV on. He found a baseball game to watch. Despite Punk's best efforts hockey games still bothered him. Hearing a hockey game in the background while someone's beating you up with a sledgehammer will do that to you, he'd told them.

There was a knock on the door. He got up and limped over to it. He looked through the peephole and saw a young man in a hotel uniform standing there.

He opened the door. "Can I help you?" He asked. The man just smiled at him. "Can I help you," he repeated. Still nothing. Ambrose closed the door. He went over to the room phone and called the front desk.

"Front desk."

"One of your employees just knocked on my door but wouldn't tell me what he wanted."

"That's strange," I'm not sure why anyone would be there. I'll send someone up to check into that for you."

"Thanks," Ambrose said and hung up. He settled back on the bed with the ice. He tried to get into the baseball game but after twenty minutes there was a knock on the door. He limped over and looked through the peephole. This time there was a security guard there. He opened the door.

"Hello sir. I just wanted to let you know that I have looked all over this floor and I didn't find anyone. Please don't hesitate to call if they return," he said and left.

Ambrose just went back to his bed and lay down vowing not to get up if there was another knock on the door.

He must have fallen asleep while watching the game because the next thing he heard was the door opening. He looked up to see Roman coming through the door and Seth was flipping through the channels on the TV looking for something else to watch. Roman gave him a box. Ambrose started eating.

There was a knock on the door. "If it's a dark haired guy who smiles a lot, don't bother to open the door." Ambrose said between bites.

Seth went to the door. "Yep it's a dark haired guy who smiles a lot." He informed them. "It's Jay. Should I ignore him?"

"He's okay I guess. The guy I'm talking about supposedly works at the hotel. He knocked on the door but didn't say what he wanted."

Seth let Jay and Naomi into the hotel room.

"How are you Dean," Naomi asked, "we heard you fell down the stairs."

"I'm fine," Dean said, "I just wish I knew who pushed me!"

Seth opened his mouth to protest but stopped. He and Roman had talked. There was no point in arguing. Dean had convinced himself that he had been pushed and was too stubborn to believe otherwise.

"I'm surprised in all the time you guys have been in WWE, none of you have fallen down the stairs," Jay said.

"Just tripping over guardrails and falling while jumping over the top rope." Ambrose said with a grin. Roman glared at him not like being reminded of his mess-ups.

Dean stood up and went to the bathroom. He stopped when he saw the mirror. It had a word written on it: Boo. He hurried out of the bathroom.

"Look at the bathroom," he said starting to shake.

Seth got up and went in. He came back a few minutes later. "I didn't see anything," he informed him.

Dean went back into the bathroom. The mirror was clean. He was starting to wonder if he was losing his mind.

* * *

Notes: This is not a ghost story.


	7. Fly Away

The next morning Seth and Roman woke up to see Dean was gone along with his things. He had been upset after what he said was a message on the mirror that was gone by the time Seth entered the bathroom. Now he was gone.

Seth picked up a piece of paper that was lying next to the phone. He read it aloud. "I'm traveling with R-Truth and Xavier Woods to Smackdown. I'll see you at the show. Dean." Seth turned to Roman. "I wish I knew what was going on with Dean. I think he should have someone look at his head."

"The MRI and IMPACT tests showed nothing wrong," Roman reminded him. "You know it all started with the text from the Wyatts being released from prison. He started losing it then."

"Yeah," Seth agreed, "I wish he'd talk to us about what's really bothering him."

"I think he's tried but he really seems to believe they are out to get him. His forgetting he went back to his room, thinking he was pushed down the stairs and now a message on the mirror."

"Yeah," Seth said, "you think Vince would give him time off?"

"Dean won't take it," Roman reminded him. "Remember how he was back on the road with us the day after he was released from the hospital?" Seth nodded. "We just need to let Dean work this out himself."

* * *

Dean sat in the passenger seat while Xavier Woods drove. He had his iPod plugged in and was trying to ignore the conversation between Xavier and R-Truth. Ron had said that because he was the veteran, he got to stretch out in the backseat. Dean didn't try to argue that he had been wrestling almost as long as R-Truth. He was just glad for the ride. He didn't need his supposed best friends trying to tell him that he had gone crazy. He was starting to wonder it himself and didn't need others telling him that.

When they arrived at the arena Vince McMahon, obviously waiting for Dean, approached them. "Dean may I have a word with you?" He asked.

"Uh sure," Dean said and followed Vince into his office. Doc Sampson and Doc Ammon were already in the office waiting for them.

"This won't take long Dean," Vince said, "I've been talking to the trainers and they both seem to agree that you are ready to return to the ring. Sampson has told me that the MRI results are not back yet but I want you to go down to the Performance Center and start working with the NXT wrestlers." Vince chuckled. "No we just want to make you ready for the ring again and I'm sure the wrestlers there could benefit from your experience," he said handing him a plane ticket. "You leave for Orlando tonight. A cab, which will be paid by us, will take you to the airport."

Dean looked at the trainers. He'd been fooled by them in the past about his injuries so he still wasn't sure. He held the gaze of Doc Sampson who nodded.

"Okay," he said looking at the ticket. "Guess I've got to go," he said and left the office. He looked at his watch. He'd have to leave in a half hour. He took his cellphone and called Seth. "Are you guys at the Arena yet?" He asked as soon as Seth answered.

"No we are still an hour away. Everything okay," he asked.

"I'm flying to the Performance Center tonight. They want me to work out with the NXT wrestlers as I'm almost ready to return to the ring."

"Are you sure that's a good idea," Seth asked. "With the weird things going on, do you really think going to Orlando is a good idea?"

"I can take care of myself," Dean said. "There are enough people there that I'll be fine. I'll call you guys when I arrive," he said and hung up. He decided to wait at the entrance to the arena for the cab. There was a beep indicating he had a text. What does Seth want, he wondered. He opened the text and found it wasn't from Seth or Roman. It read:

_All by yourself? Where's Roman and Seth? _

Dean's face flushed with anger. He started to hit reply but stopped and looked at the plane ticket again. If he had traveled with Seth and Roman he would have missed his flight. He suddenly felt that going to Orlando wasn't a very good idea. He went back to Vince's office.

"This flight doesn't work for me," Ambrose said. "I need to go home and get more clothes and stuff and I need to feed my turtle. Could I leave for Orlando on Thursday?"

"Uh sure Dean," Vince said looking confused. "There's no rush. Just thought you would want to get to Orlando right away. We'll call the airline and get the flight changed."

"Thanks Vince," Ambrose said and left the office. He went back to the locker room and changed. He sat in the locker room listening to his iPod.

Roman and Seth entered the locker room. They were both surprised to see him. "Something seemed weird," he said, "I got him to change it to me flying out of Las Vegas on Thursday."

"Good idea," Seth said as he and Roman started to change.

Ambrose left the locker room and walked out to the ring. The fans wouldn't start arriving for a couple of hours. He took a seat in a row behind where the announce table would stand and watched the ring crew and technicians get things ready for the show. He turned his iPod on again and became lost in the music.

A hand on his shoulder startled him. He looked up at Seth who was sitting next to him.

"Sorry for scaring you man," Seth said, "I said your name a couple of times but I guess you didn't hear me. Did you really tell Vince that you have to take care of your turtle? When did you get a turtle?"

"I thought everyone knew about my turtle. There's a picture of it all over the internet."

Seth laughed. "That wasn't your turtle."

Ambrose grinned. "Vince doesn't know that." He got up and stretched. "I wish you guys were coming to Orlando," he said. "Aren't the Wyatts from Florida?"

"Louisiana I think. Or something like that. I'll talk to Vince and maybe see if we all can go there. Maybe brush up on our team work."

One of the security guards approached them. "Fans will start coming in in twenty minutes," he informed them.

"No problem," Ambrose said jumping over the guard rail. He sat down in his usual seat when doing commentary on Smackdown. Seth shook his head and left.

* * *

"He'll be in Orlando on Thursday," the man said into the phone. "All is going according to plan. I believe Reigns might be going also. I'll let you know when I have more information. I'll see you there."

* * *

Notes: So many little hints at who's working with the Wyatts. Hope you are having fun trying to guess who it is.


	8. Brother

Dean was starting to think things were back to normal as he left Orlando International Airport on Thursday. Nothing strange had happened to him the past couple of days. He grinned when he saw Roman waiting for him.

"Seth's flight is getting in in twenty minutes," Roman said after they greeted each other.

"Thanks for picking us up," Ambrose said, "still can't believe they let all three of us go down here for two weeks."

"You get to train," Roman said, "Seth and I get to defend the tag titles a couple of times while we are here." He led him over to a bench where they could sit down and wait for Seth's arrival. They talked as they waited. Both glad to hear nothing strange had happened to either of them. When Seth arrived they greeted each other then left for the Performance Center.

When they walked in, the first person to greet them was JBL. Dean stiffened. He had heard rumors that JBL hadn't resigned he had been fired but no one seemed to agree on why he was fired. Apparently he was still GM of NXT.

JBL smiled as walked over to them. "Welcome," he said, "I'm sure you know where the locker room is."

"I'm sure we can find it," Seth said looking up at a sign that indicated where the locker rooms were.

When they arrived at the locker room they found it empty. They changed into shorts and t-shirts as they were only working out and not having matches. When they stepped out into the main part of the Center, they found two of the three wrestling rings currently occupied.

Joey Mercury came over to them. "Welcome back to developmental," he said with a grin. "I've been 'assigned' to work with Dean. It was me or William Regal and Regal seemed a little too happy to work with you Dean."

"I bet he was," Dean said remembering their two matches in FCW. He rubbed the shoulder Regal had dislocated a couple of years ago.

The three Shield Members started stretching. Roman and Seth were going to the weight room to work out.

Joey worked with Dean mindful of his injuries and carefully testing them. They did that for about a half hour before taking a break not wanting Dean to overdo it.

Ambrose rolled out of the ring for a water break. He felt like someone was staring at him. He turned around to see Bo Dallas. His usual smile wasn't present but he guessed even Bo couldn't be happy all the time. Joey walked over to him. "I didn't know Bo was back down here." He had been called up in May.

"WWE wants him to work on some things before he has more matches," Joey answered. "You ready to get back in the ring?" He asked.

Ambrose put his water bottle down. "Always ready," he said climbing back into the ring.

* * *

Dean walked into the locker room later that day. He went to his locker and found it empty. He saw Seth and Roman's stuff was still there. He looked in the locker next to Roman's but it was empty? Was this a rib? He wondered. If it was, he didn't find it one bit funny.

The locker room door opened and Bo and Sami Zayn entered the locker room.

"Hey Dean," Sami said as he walked over to his locker.

"Something wrong Dean," Bo asked seeing the look on Dean's face.

"My stuff is gone. I put my stuff in the locker next to Seth's and now it's gone."

"Is this it," Sami asked pointing at a locker across the room from where Dean saw his Shield hoody hanging on a hook.

Dean frowned. "How'd it get there?"

"Have no idea," Sami said, "maybe it's a rib."

Dean shrugged and changed. He folded his hoody and placed it into his bag before walking out of the locker room. He saw that Seth and Roman were still in the weight room. He walked in and sat down on a bench watching them.

"Finished already," Roman asked before looking at his watch. "Wow look at the time." He leaned over and tapped Seth on the shoulder as he was listening to his iPod while running on the treadmill and hadn't seen Dean enter. He looked up.

"We done?" He asked as he pulled out his ear buds.

"Yep," Dean said as he stood up. "I'll wait for you guys outside. He said as they walked out of the weight room. Just as he was about to go outside, he saw JBL walking his way.

"Dean glad I caught you before you left. The trainers want to see you as soon as you come in tomorrow to discuss the MRI results and if they are good, I'll have you and Bo Dallas wrestle in a match. Bo could use the experience and you can see how ring ready you are. It'll be more like a spar so if you need to stop, you can."

"Sounds good," Dean said though a feeling of apprehension went through him but he didn't know why.

* * *

Ambrose arrived at the center the next morning with Rollins and Reigns. They said they wanted to hear what the trainers had to say. When Ambrose entered the trainer's room he found a trainer sitting there. "Hello Dean have a seat." He said pointing at a chair. Dean sat and Roman and Seth leaned against the wall. "I have the MRI results," he said, "and everything looks good. We'll see how your match with Bo Dallas goes."

"Thanks," Ambrose said standing up. "Can you guys make sure my doctor gets the results?"

"Of course," he said.

The Shield walked out of the trainer's room and Dean went into the locker room to change.

"I'm going to see if I can find Sami. I haven't talked to him in forever," Seth said and went off in search for a wrestler he used to work with. Roman stood waiting for Dean.

* * *

Dean stood in the ring waiting for Bo Dallas to come out. Some of the developmental wrestlers stood around the ring wanting to see the match. Roman and Seth, out of habit, stood in Dean's corner. Bo walked out of the locker room.

"What does he think this is," Seth asked under his breath, "television?"

Bo got in the ring and he and Ambrose shook hands. The ref came up to them to remind them of the rules.

Ambrose and Bo locked up in the middle of the ring. Ambrose shot him off the ropes and tried a leapfrog which felt fine. He decided to try simple moves just to see how his ankle felt. everything was going fine until Ambrose tried a suplex and Bo somehow got his leg tied in with Ambrose's and when Ambrose went for the suplex his ankle twisted and he felt something pop or snap and he went down with a cry of pain. He lay on the mat clutching his ankle. The ref pushed Bo back. Seth and Roman got into the ring.

Ambrose had tears in his eyes. He tried to stand up but Roman and Seth stopped him.

"Damn it," Seth yelled, "I thought he said your ankle was okay."

Roman was staring at Bo intently. It was the look on Bo's face that made him furious. There was no worry or remorse on his face. He wanted to go over and punch him. If Ambrose didn't have a death grip on his hand from the pain he would have.

The trainer entered the ring. He started to examine Ambrose but stopped after a few seconds. "I've got a stretcher. I think we can get Ambrose out of the ring." He started to splint the ankle. They slid Ambrose out of the ring as carefully as they could. Ambrose gritted his teeth as he was placed on a stretcher and was wheeled to a waiting ambulance.

"You ride with him," Roman said, "I'm going to deal with Bo."

Seth didn't argue as he got into the front of the ambulance. Roman went back into the Performance Center.

"You know who his brother is right," a young woman asked from behind him. He turned around to see Bailey.

"No," he answered, "who is it?"

"Bray Wyatt."


	9. More Family Connections?

Ambrose lay on the hospital gurney waiting for the doctor to return with the x-rays. He had been given something for the pain that he was in. He knew his ankle was broken he just didn't know how badly. "Seth you don't think…" he started to ask but stopped at how funny his words sounded so tried again. "You don't think the trainer lied do you?"

Seth didn't say anything right away. "That's what I'm wondering. Wouldn't be the first time," he said referring to how Ammon downplayed Ambrose's injuries at the orders of Evolution. "I don't know why he would lie though."

Reigns came in. "I don't know if they lied," he said, "but Bo did it for his brother Bray Wyatt."

Ambrose sat straight up on the gurney. "Are you kidding me?" He asked. "Bo Dallas' brother is Bray Wyatt and they thought the match was a good idea?!"

"Whoa calm down Dean," Seth said gently pushing him back on the gurney. "We don't know for sure what they knew." He saw Roman flexing his hand. "You get a piece of him?" He asked.

Roman grinned. "Yeah. Taught him you don't mess with the Shield."

The curtain parted and a doctor came into the room. "Mr. Good I have the x-rays back. You have a compound fracture in your ankle that will need surgery."

"Doesn't that figure," Ambrose grumbled. "When is the surgery?" He asked.

"I'd like to do the surgery later this afternoon. The sooner the better. I'll have you moved into your own room as soon as possible." He checked Ambrose's chart and then left the room.

"Triple H really is determined to get rid of me," Ambrose said leaning back on the gurney. "Just when I think things are getting better this happens!"

"Come on Dean this is just a minor setback," Seth said. "You'll be back in the ring in a couple of minutes with a stronger than ever ankle. Bo got lucky today that's all."

"We should have known something was wrong." Roman said. "I thought Dean was going to be eased back into the ring and they had him wrestling the very next day."

"Yeah," Seth said thoughtfully, "how much did you work with Joey?"

"We worked on some basic stuff putting more and more pressure on my ankle but Joey was really careful. Who all is behind this?" He wondered.

* * *

Joey Mercury stood in JBL's office door. He didn't even bother knocking because he was so furious. He had just arrived at the Performance Center to hear what had happened to Ambrose and he sought out the man in charge. "Why didn't you ask me how Ambrose was before you put him in a match?" He asked.

"I didn't think I had to. I thought it would be a great way to test his ankle by putting him in the ring with Bo figuring they both could get something out of it."

"Yeah well I certainly wouldn't have picked someone like Bo Dallas and I certainly would have checked with the trainer."

"The trainer said he was just fine!" JBL said defensively. "He thought it was a good way to see how the ankle held up. So he re-broke his ankle. It's not my fault!"

"Yeah well trainer's words when it comes to Ambrose doesn't seem to mean shit." He reminded him. "I worked with Ambrose per Vince's request because William Regal has a past with Ambrose. Has Bo at least been suspended?"

"He said it was an accident," JBL said. "Their feet got tangled up in the suplex and he accidently trapped Dean's ankle when he came down. I don't think he should be suspended. I don't know why everyone always thinks it's some kind of conspiracy whenever Dean Ambrose gets hurt! He's not exactly perfect in the ring. Some say he's a bit crazy. Maybe he had some ring rust still left on him that he couldn't properly hook in the suplex. Or maybe Bo's not experienced enough but there is no conspiracy going on here."

Joey just shook his head. "You don't think it had anything to do with the fact that his older brother was sent to jail for kidnapping Ambrose and Rollins? And said brother and two of his followers were released from prison last week?"

"No. Bo told me yesterday that he is trying to make up for what his brother did. He wants to escape his brother's shadow and that's why he doesn't acknowledge who his brother is and said he looked forward to working with Dean. I have nothing against Ambrose. I think he's got a lot of talent and am sorry to see him get hurt again.

"You aren't just a little bit jealous that he replaced you on commentary after you got fired? We all know you got fired John no matter what you tell others."

"I did not get fired! I chose to focus on being GM down here so I could spend more time with my wife Meredith. Family is important to me."

"Speaking of family," Joey said remembering something, "this wouldn't have to do with the fact that Bo and Bray are the grandsons of Blackjack Mulligan and the nephew of Barry Windham would it?"

"I sometimes forget they are all related," JBL said, "so no this doesn't have anything to do with that aspect of my family. If all you're going to do is accuse me of something I had no part of, I suggest you leave!"

Joey left the office realizing this was going nowhere. He wished he had answers for what went on and wished he had been there earlier to stop the match from happening.

* * *

Notes: I had this chapter all finished and then my stupid word starter program froze. I actually like the flow of this writing better and it's longer. More connections to the Wyatts? I almost forgot JBL's uncle was Blackjack Lanza.


	10. The Other Shoe Drops

Ambrose opened his eyes and blinked at the Harsh light that was shining in his eyes. His head was still a little fuzzy from the anesthesia. He turned his head slightly and saw Roman standing at the window staring out. He looked to his other side but didn't see Seth.

"Roman," he called hoarsely. The Samoan turned around when he heard his name. He came over and sat in one of the chairs next to Ambrose's bed.

"Doctor said the surgery on your ankle went well," he said. "He had thought you might need pins in your ankle but was able to set it without them."

"Thank goodness for that," Ambrose said his voice still hoarse. He really needed water. Roman held up a cup and straw for him. He tried to take it but his hands shook so Roman held it for him. He took a long drink before lying back down on the bed.

"Where's Seth?" He asked.

"Getting coffee from the hospital cafeteria," Roman answered. "He should be back any minute."

As if on cue, the door opened and Seth came in carrying two cups of coffee. He handed one of the cups to Roman and he smiled down at Dean. "Glad to see you awake."

"Me too," Dean said stifling a yawn. He was really tired.

"Get some rest," Roman said. "We'll be right here." Ambrose closed his eyes and was asleep again in moments.

As soon as he was sure Ambrose was asleep, Seth said, "did you tell him about what we found?"

"Of course not," Roman answered in a whisper. "He had just woken up from surgery and I didn't think he needed to know about that. I think we should throw it away."

"Throw what away," Ambrose murmured barely awake.

"Nothing," Seth and Roman said quickly.

"Just go back to sleep Dean," Seth said. "There's nothing to worry about."

"You're lying…" he said but he was asleep again.

Seth and Roman left the room to talk so they wouldn't wake up Dean. "Where's the mask?" Seth asked.

"It's in my duffel bag. Look it's just going to upset him if we tell him about the llama mask."

"Lamb mask," Seth said with a smile.

"Camel mask whatever," Roman said remembering that conversation that they had had at NXT Arrival. They never did agree on what kind of mask Erik Rowan wore. "Looks it's just going to upset Dean more if we tell him. He's upset as it is with what Bo did."

Seth's phone started to ring. His face turned crimson when he read the caller ID. "It's my mom," he said apologetically. "I'll be right back." He said walking away to talk to his mother privately.

A nurse walked past Roman and into Ambrose's room. Rowan followed her in and watched as she examined Ambrose.

"Your friend is doing really well," she told Roman. "No side effects from the anesthesia. It's good he's sleeping. The kind of fracture he suffered can be rather painful for most people."

"At least something's going right," Roman said, "thanks."

"No problem. Let us know if he needs anything," she said and left the room.

Seth came in a few minutes later looking nervous.

"Everything okay at home?" Roman asked.

"What?" Seth asked. "Oh yeah everything's fine. Guess I'm just worried about everything. My mom says hello by the way."

The door opened again and Joey Mercury came into the room. "How is he?" He asked.

"Compound fracture. He just had surgery," Roman said. He was distracted momentarily by Seth going to the window and moving the blinds. "You sure you're okay Seth?" Ambrose was the one of them that couldn't stay still.

"Huh," Seth asked dropping the little bar. "OH yeah fine. Hey Joey."

Joey smiled. "I'm so sorry about what happened to Ambrose. Nobody asked me if Dean was ready for a match. I didn't even know anything about it until I arrived at the Performance Center. JBL is refusing to take any responsibility for it and denies it has anything to do with the fact that Bo and Bray are brothers. You guys might not know that JBLs' uncle Blackjack Lanza teamed with their grandfather and that he himself teamed with their uncle Barry Windham."

"Man," Ambrose said waking up again. "Is everyone related to them?

Joey just shrugged. "Just seems like it. Also JBL still denies he was fired as a commentary. It's either all messed up or a really weird coincidence."

Seth moved away from the window but he still looked distracted.

Ambrose sucked in a breath as his ankle started to throb. Roman went to get a nurse who gave Ambrose more pain medication after double checking his chart. She left the room. Ambrose settled back down as the medication started to take effect. His eyelids were starting to get heavy again. "I'm gonna sleep," he said drowsily. "You guys can go. I'll be okay…" his voice trailed off and he was asleep again.

"Seth why don't you get some sleep," Roman suggested. "You look like you need some sleep."

Seth turned around with a blank stare. "What oh yeah sure. I'll come relieve you in a few hours."

"Seth are you sure you're okay," Roman asked becoming concerned for the younger man.

"I'm fine," he answered. "I'll see you in a couple of hours," he said and left.

"Joey can you make sure he gets there okay? He seems off."

"Of course," Joey said and left the hospital room.

* * *

Later that night Ambrose woke up with a start as he felt like he was being moved. He saw a guy in what looked like a camel mask looking down at him. He tried to move away but the person's grip on him was too tight. He reached up and trying to push them away and found his hand on the mask. He pulled it off and stared at the person in shock. He started screaming.

"What is going on in here," a voice demanded. The person moved away.

Ambrose tried to answer but he was shaking too hard still not believing who he was locking eyes with.

The nurse came over and injected a sedative. Ambrose lay back down. The person grabbed the mask.

"What happened," the nurse asked again.

"I don't know," the person said. "He was having a nightmare and when I tried to wake him up he started screaming."

Roman had just arrived and stood in the doorway. "Seth? What's in your hand?"

* * *

Notes: I told a couple of people that when the other shoe fell, it'll change everything. I was afraid I gave it away a couple of times but I was glad to know that no one, or no one that I know of, figured it out.


	11. Trying to Piece it Together

Notes: Okay I do know it's a sheep mask but I kind of have fun with no one seeming to know what it is.

* * *

Seth dropped the mask onto the hospital floor. He looked at Roman eyes wide. "It isn't what it looks like," he stammered, "I found it on the floor next to Ambrose's bed."

"He was wearing it," Ambrose said. "He was trying to move me and I saw him wearing it."

The nurse was giving them all dubious looks not understand what was going on. "Look," she said, "all I know is Mr. Good started screaming. When I came in here he was holding the cow mask until he," she said pointing at Seth, "took it from him. Do I need to call in security or something?"

Roman was staring at Seth intently, shook his head. "I don't think that will be necessary." He couldn't even begin to understand what had happened.

He had forgotten his phone in Ambrose's room and had gone back to get it. When he got out of the elevator, he heard screaming and ran the rest of the way to the room. He had arrived in time to find a terrified looking Ambrose and Seth holding the llama mask he hadn't seen anyone running away as he came into the room and Dean had just confirmed his worst fears. "We'll be right back," Roman said to Ambrose as he dragged Seth out of the room. As soon as they were out of Ambrose's hearing range but still able to watch the room, he said, "what the Hell is going on?"

"Look it's not what you think," Seth said looking as nervous as he did earlier that day. "I don't know why Ambrose thinks I was wearing the mask."

Roman wanted to believe him. It made more sense than the idea that Seth had joined the Wyatts but something in Ambrose's eyes and what the nurse had said filled him with doubt.

"Why don't you go get some sleep," Seth suggested. "You look really tired."

"Maybe later," Roman said as he walked back to Dean's room. "I don't think I could go back to sleep after what just happened.

Seth stopped him before he entered the hospital room. "You do believe me right?"

Roman put on a forced smile and said, "yeah." He wasn't sure what to believe right now though.

This seemed to satisfy Seth. "I'm going to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back," he said before disappearing down the hall.

Roman watched him enter the bathroom before entering Dean's hospital room.

Dean was watching him. "I know you guys think I'm losing my mind but Roman I know what I saw."

"I know," Roman said, "but I really wish you were wrong."

"No one wishes that more than me."

* * *

Seth counted to 120 before he left the restroom to make sure Roman was no longer in the hallway. He took the elevator down to the lobby. He exited the elevator and went out the door. A van, that was idling, pulled up to him. He opened the sliding door and got in.

"Where's Ambrose," was the first question.

"He woke up and started screaming," Seth answered. "Roman and a nurse came in before I could do anything."

"That's okay," he said soothingly. "We will try again." The van moved away from the hospital.

"We will have our revenge," Bray said with a smile. He started humming He's Got the Whole World in His Hands. Seth closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

Roman stood outside of the hospital room and tried to call Seth's phone again but it went straight to voicemail. "Seth where are you," Roman muttered under his breath. It had been several hours since he had seen him and now he was worried. First Seth had worn the llama mask and now he had disappeared. He went back into the room and shook his head at Sami Zayn to indicate he wasn't able to reach Seth.

Ambrose was sound asleep. Roman sat down in a chair on the other side of the bed.

"If you want to get some sleep or do something else," Sami said, "I can watch over Dean."

"No I'm okay," he said. He had no clue where to look for Seth and he was too wired to sleep. "I might take you up on the other offer later."

"Good morning," a nurse said cheerfully as she entered the hospital room. She checked Ambrose's vitals and the cast on his ankle before making a note on his chart. "Everything looks good," she said to them. "He should be released from the hospital on schedule. Let us know when he wakes up," she said before leaving the room.

Roman's phone rang so he left the room. "Seth?" He asked.

"No this is Vince McMahon," the person answered. "I'm in Orlando and was wondering if you could stop by the Performance Center. I'm calling a meeting to find out what happened yesterday. I want you and Rollins there."

"I'm not sure if Dean should be left here alone. A lot of stuff has been happening," he didn't want to mention that Seth was nowhere to be found.

"Would you feel better if I send a couple of NXT wrestlers to stay with him? I promise they won't be Bo Dallas."

Roman still wasn't sure this was a good idea. "I don't know…"

Vince was silent for a moment possibly talking to someone else in the room. "We'll patch you in through with a conference call. I can understand your concern for your teammate. I will call you when we're ready." He said and hung up.

An orderly came into the room with the breakfast cart. Roman went back into the room. Dean was awake and eyeing the tray that was set down in front of him. Roman looked down at it also. It didn't look very edible to him either.

"We'll bring you something better later," Roman said his stomach starting to growl.

"Sounds like you need some food too," Sami said, "do you want me to get you something from the cafeteria?"

"That'd be great." Roman said.

Sami left the room.

Ambrose started eating the food. "I think this is worse than what I ate when I was in the independents," he said.

"Definitely worse than the stuff I ate in college," Roman agreed.

"Have you seen Seth," Ambrose asked as he pushed the food around on his tray.

"Not in a few hours," Roman said honestly, "and his phone's off."

"I just want to know why." Ambrose said. "I think he's the one who carried me up to my room in Boston. No one would think anything was wrong with that. And he could have written something on the mirror and cleaned it off." He put his head in his hands. "But why did he do it?"

Roman didn't say anything because he didn't have an answer. Why did Seth do this? He wondered.

His phone started to ring. He looked down at the caller ID and saw it was Vince. He put the call on speaker phone so Ambrose could listen also.

"Hello Vince," Roman said.

"Okay so let's get this meeting going," he said. "I want to know what happened yesterday."

Ambrose spoke before Roman could say anything. "JBL told me the day before that I'd be wrestling Bo Dallas in a spar to test my ankle. The trainer said everything looked fine and when I wrestled Bo everything seemed okay until I tried a suplex. Bo managed to get his foot tangled in mine and when I went for a suplex, my ankle broke."

"Thank you Dean," Vince said sounding slightly surprised that Dean was a part of the call. "Joey," he said, "what is your input on this?"

"I was asked by you to work with Dean to get him ready to return to the ring. I could tell he was still favoring his ankle so I was making sure to go easy on it. If I had been asked if Dean was ready for a match, I would have said no but no one asked me."

"JBL what was your reasoning behind putting Dean in a match right away against someone who held a grudge?"

Roman had to give it to Vince. Vince was being diplomatic about everything.

"I was told Dean was ready for this test on the ankle. Bo had told me he was trying to escape his brother's shadow and wanted to try wrestling Dean. I had no idea his ankle would break. I…"

Whatever he was going to Dean and Roman didn't hear as there was a loud noise and the lights went out.


	12. Reasons

Sami tried grabbing onto Ambrose as he was closer to Dean than Roman. He knew lights going out wouldn't be a good thing and most likely signaled the arrival of the Wyatts.

"Let go Sami," Seth said into his ear. "Just let go."

Sami swung blindly at where he hoped the voice was coming from hoping he didn't accidently hit Ambrose or Roman.

There was a chuckle. "Missed. But I won't," that was the last thing he remembered before something crashed down on the back of his head. Everything went black. His hand slipped away from Ambrose and he crashed to the floor.

Roman launched himself at the figure standing in the room not caring who it was at the moment.

"You truly are an interesting creature," Bray said, "but we do not have time for this." He shoved Roman as hard as he could off of Seth. He looked toward the doorway trying to figure out how much time they had before someone came into the room to see what was going on. "Grab Ambrose," he hissed at Rowan. "We've got to go."

Roman picked himself up off the floor and flung himself at the larger silhouette in the room. They all went crashing to the floor landing on top of Sami.

Bray glowered. Why couldn't this be as easy as last time? He wondered.

Ambrose was sitting up on the bed, bed railing in his hand ready to hit whoever tried to grab him. Suddenly the lights went back on in the hallway.

"Forget them!" Bray said. "We need to leave now!" The Wyatts left.

After they were gone a nurse appeared in the doorway surveying the room. She saw two men tangled up on the floor and Ambrose holding onto the bed rail.

"We've got the power back on," she said, "thankfully the storm only knocked out the lights. Are you okay Mr. Good?"

Ambrose dropped the bed rail. After seeing Roman was still in the room, he relaxed. "Yeah I'm fine." He said.

The nurse left the room.

"Sorry," Roman said as he helped Sami back to his feet. "You okay?"

"Other than a headache," he said, "fine. Just glad they didn't get either of you or me for that matter."

"Well Dean can't stay here," Roman said, "we need to move."

The curtains parted again and this time a doctor entered the room. "Seems we had a bit of excitement," he said as he checked Ambrose's chart and cast. "Everything looks good."

"Doctor would there be any problems if I was released today," Ambrose asked.

The doctor looked down at his chart again. "I guess it would be okay. Everything on your chart looks good. Of course we are concerned because of your history of internal damage. If you were released we would suggest going back to the hospital if anything seems even the slightest bit wrong. If that is what you want, I'll get the discharge papers started."

"It's what I want," Ambrose said.

"Okay then," the doctor said, "I'll have a nurse bring in the paperwork for you to sign when it's ready," he said and left the room.

A muffled voice came from under the bed. Roman looked under the bed and found that his phone was still connected to the conference call.

"Hello," Roman asked.

"Is everything okay there," Vince asked.

"The Wyatts have left," Roman said, "they were trying to get Dean again."

"Why are they trying so hard to get Ambrose," a voice they didn't recognize right away asked. It took Roman a moment to realize it wasn't coming from the phone.

"Hey Punk," Ambrose greeted.

* * *

Bray was livid. This had been the second failed attempt to grab Ambrose in the less than twenty-four hours. He was going to be mad and none of this was his fault. Reigns kept getting in his way. He knew if he wanted to get Ambrose he either had to take Reigns as well or make sure he was out of the picture. He looked over at Rollins who was staring out the window and knew he had a perfect way to do it. He saw his newest follower start to fidget again so he started humming and he settled down again. They were going to get their revenge one way or another. The destruction of Dean Ambrose was Hunter's goal. His goal was the destruction of The Shield as a whole.

It had all started when he took Ambrose and Rollins out of the hospital. He had put Seth into the trunk and played a tape with subliminal messages for him to listen to and that was only the start. He had his followers keep tabs on Seth and call his cellphone with the same music. He was able to manipulate Seth into exactly what he wanted him to do. Now he just had to finish his goal and knew just how to do it.


	13. Home Invasion

Notes: Well looks like I was a little wrong about AJ and Punk! By the time this fic starts out they would already be married! Truly happy for them. They seem to be a happy couple.

* * *

"So where exactly are we going?" Dean asked his voice slightly muffled by the jacket he was using as a pillow. He was stretched out in the backset with his bad ankle propped up on Roman. Punk and AJ were in the front.

"I have no clue," Punk said. "Do you guys want to look for the Wyatts or get away from them?"

"We could always go to RAW Monday," Ambrose suggested. "That way we know exactly where they are," he yawned as the painkillers started to take effect.

"I hope those are the painkillers talking," Roman said, "because that's a crazy idea." He didn't get an answer because Ambrose was asleep.

"It's not that crazy of an idea," AJ said. "You'll get to see them on your terms."

"True," Roman said, "I really want to know why Seth joined the Wyatts but Dean is in no shape to be at RAW. They are known for appearing out of nowhere," he sighed, "but I don't know of anywhere else to go. Let's go to my apartment for now to figure something out." He gave Punk the directions.

* * *

When they arrived at the apartment, Punk and Roman helped a still groggy Ambrose out of the car and into Roman's apartment. They settled him on the couch and he went back to sleep.

"I'm not an expert on painkillers but should we be worried," AJ asked.

"Nah," Roman said, "he was even groggier the last time he was checked out of the hospital. He'll be okay," he sat down in a chair. "The bathroom is down the hall on the right. The kitchen is also down the hall if you guys are hungry or thirsty." He said as he turned on the TV. "Make yourself at home."

AJ walked down the hall to the bathroom but came back quickly. "They've been here," she said.

Roman and Punk followed her to the bathroom and saw a sheep mask propped up against the mirror. There was a message on the mirror it read: We'll be back for him.

Roman's hand smacked the sink. He knew the handwriting almost as well as his own. It was Seth's. He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised that Seth was at his apartment. The other tenants all knew Dean and Seth and wouldn't have given him a second glance if he entered the apartment building. "We can't stay here," Roman said going back into the living room to wake Ambrose up again.

"What's going on," Ambrose asked groggily. He started to fall asleep but Roman shook him awake as he handed him the crutches.

"Seth's been here," Roman explained. "We've got to move."

"Why not wait for them," Ambrose asked. "Why are we running."

"Because you have a broken ankle," Roman reminded him. "And they are after you. Almost everyone here knows Seth and they'll let him up here so we've got to go."

"I vote we stay here," Ambrose said as he pushed the crutches away.

Punk and AJ didn't say a word as they didn't care either way.

Dean's phone started to ring and Roman handed it to him. "Hello," he said not bothering to look at the caller ID.

There was a chuckle on the other end of the phone line. "Hello Dean," Bray drawled.

"What do you want Bray," Ambrose demanded. It was what he had wanted to know for a while now.

"The Shield's destruction of course. Your personal destruction of course is per someone else's request but what better way to get revenge than by destroying the whole group."

"Why don't you come here and we can finish this right now?"

"I'm already there."

Click

Dean stood up uneasily on his crutches. This sounded like a really bad horror movie to him. "The Wyatts are here," he explained to the others.

"Where," Roman asked as he looked around his apartment but he didn't find anyone.

"That's what he said," Dean said.

"Maybe he meant mentally," AJ said as she came back into the room after doing a search where she found nothing.

There was a commotion in the hall.

"Or they meant in the building," Roman said walking over and looking out the peephole. A llama mask was not what he expected to be looking at. He moved away from the door. "AJ, Dean stay back." He said as he threw the deadbolt in place. He knew that wouldn't keep the Wyatts out but it gave him a chance to think.

Ambrose moved closer to the door and looked through the peephole. "I'm getting sick of that camel mask." He said as he moved away from the door.

"Me too," Roman said. He looked through the peephole again, but only saw Seth.

"Well we can't stay in here forever," Punk said. AJ was standing off to the side. She was even crazier than Ambrose at times but she knew when to stand back.

"I say let's open the door and see what they want," Ambrose said. "It's not like they're just going to walk away. And I'm sure Roman doesn't want them to scare his neighbors.

Roman looked at Punk before opening the door. Seth was gone.

"I told you he was a ninja," Ambrose said. As he stood in in the doorway craning his neck to get a better look. He saw a flash of brown. He pointed toward it.

Punk pushed past both of them. "I'll check it out," he said, "you guys stay here."

Roman was about to protest but thought better of it. Leaving Ambrose and AJ in the apartment probably wouldn't be a good idea with the Wyatts in the apartment building.

Punk walked out of the apartment and towards where he saw the masked face a moment ago. He hurried in that direction. When he got there no one was around. It was starting to feel like a kid's game. Or a game of cat and mouse. He searched the building but couldn't find anyone. He turned to go back to the apartment and found himself face to face with Erik Rowan.

* * *

"This is stupid," Ambrose said as he 'paced' the living room. "We should be looking for them not just sitting here."

"We aren't just sitting here roman said, "we…" he stopped. There was a loud bang on the door.

Ambrose looked through the peephole. This time Seth stood there without the mask. He stepped back to allow Roman to open the door.

Roman opened it slightly. Seth kept looking behind him.

"I think I've finally shaken the Wyatts," he said. "They really believed I was a part of their group. Let me in."

"This reminds me of a vampire story," AJ said to Ambrose. "They can only come in if they are invited."

Dean smirked. "I don't think he's a vampire." He said but he didn't think letting Seth in was a good idea. Seth had just been at the door wearing a camel mask.

"Please Roman," he said. "I don't want them to find me."

Roman still didn't open the door all the way. He turned to look at Ambrose who shook his head. There was a beep on his phone indicating he had a text message. He opened it and saw that someone had texted him a picture of Punk being down in the hall.

He closed the text before AJ could see it.

"Don't open the door," he said to Roman.

"Look Dean I'm sorry about what happened to you," Seth said. "They made me try to take you but I escaped."

"Step away from the door," Bray drawled as he walked up to the door. "Did you really think you could escape me Seth," he asked with a chuckle. "Once you are a member of my family you'll always be a member of my family. It doesn't look like your Shield Brothers want you back. You are always welcome in my family. Not that you have a choice," Bray said his smile growing bigger.

Ambrose's resolve started to waiver. What if Seth was telling the truth? He looked at Roman and saw that he seemed to be thinking it over also.

The door was shoved open by Bray knocking Roman backwards. Ambrose moved his weight so he could lean on one crutch and use the other as a weapon.

Bray's smile grew even more as he looked at Ambrose. Rowan came in carrying Punk over his shoulder before dropping him on the floor. The lights went out.

Ambrose was shoved hard backwards. He lost his balance and landed hard on the floor. A sharp pain went through his broken ankle. Someone dragged him backwards by the armpits. He tried to fight them. He was dropped in a corner.

"Stay here," Seth said.

Ambrose tried struggling back up with the aid of the crutches but was finding it very difficult. His ankle was hurting and his crutch felt like it was bent.

The lights suddenly came on and Dean found himself staring at Seth who was wiping blood off of his face.

"They're gone," Seth said holding out his hand for Ambrose to take. He refused the hand at first until another hand he did recognize and trusted reached down to help him up. Once he was up, Roman handed him a crutch that wasn't bend. He stared warily at Seth.

"Now what?" Ambrose asked.

* * *

Notes: So Seth's back with the Shield but can they trust him?


	14. Hit and Run

Ambrose wasn't too happy as he sat in the waiting room of the hospital. He had protested the whole way to the hospital. It had been Roman's idea because he had complained that his ankle was really hurting after Seth had shoved him to the ground to get him out of the way of the Wyatts. He really thought Roman was overreacting.

"My ankle's fine," he grumbled. "I got knocked to the floor. It happens."

"The doctor said to come back if anything seemed the slightest bit wrong." Roman reminded him, "so that's what we are doing."

"Mr. Good," a nurse called.

Roman, Seth, and Dean stood. Dean hobbled over to where the nurse was waiting. She had him sit in a wheelchair before taking him to x-ray. She pointed to a room where Seth and Roman could wait.

Seth and Roman sat down but they didn't say anything right away. There had been a lot silence with the Shield after the Wyatts left. The only real conversation with the Shield was when Roman and Dean argued about whether or not Dean needed to go to the hospital.

"I know you guys don't trust me," Seth said, "and I probably don't deserve the trust. What they…I did to Dean." He looked away.

Roman didn't say anything. What could he possibly say?

Seth picked up a Sports Illustrated and started leafing through it. They didn't say another word to each other.

Dean was wheeled back into the room. The orderly helped him onto the exam table and left.

"Seth I gotta know," Dean said, "were you the one who carried me up to my room in Boston?"

Seth hesitated for a moment. "I don't remember everything I did but I think I did that and the mirror."

Ambrose nodded. He always suspected it.

A doctor came into the room. "Good news Mr. Good," he said sitting down on the stool. "Your ankle wasn't damaged more by the fall."

"I told them that," Ambrose said, "but they didn't believe me."

"Your friends were smart to bring you in Mr. Good. It's always better to be safe than sorry. Do you have any questions?" They shook their heads and he left.

An orderly came in with a new set of crutches for Ambrose. The three members of the Shield left the hospital. Roman handed Seth the keys to get this car.

Dean sat down on a bench. "So what now? Do we let him come back with us? I don't know if I trust him. He went from wearing a camel mask to not wearing one so fast."

"I know," Roman said. "We don't know what the trigger is but I don't know what to do. It'd probably be a good idea to keep an eye on him though."

Seth pulled up to the curb and got out. He helped Roman get Ambrose into the back of the car. Roman got into the driver's seat but Seth just closed the front passenger door.

"Its better I didn't go with you guys," Seth said. "You don't trust me and I know there is no way to make you trust me."

Seth's phone started to ring and he froze. He made no move to answer it after seeing the caller ID. His hands shook a little as he struggled to keep himself from answering it. Dean reached through the window and grabbed it out of his hands.

"Give Seth the phone," Bray drawled.

Ambrose hit end and was tempted to throw the cellphone out the window but it wasn't his phone.

"They watching us," Ambrose said. "Bray knew that I was on the phone and not Seth."

Seth shook his head quickly. "I need to get out of here." He ran in the direction of the taxi line.

"Wait Seth," Roman called after him. Just as he approached a taxi, Rowan came out of nowhere.

Roman felt torn. He was about to put the vehicle in drive when he saw Rowan start punching Seth.

"Go help him," Ambrose said.

"But…"

"I'll be okay. Go help Seth."

Roman got out of the car and went to help Seth. He started punching Rowan and nailed him with Superman Punch before security could arrive. Roman helped Seth to his feet. When the turned around the car was gone.

* * *

Ambrose winced as he shifted his broken ankle. He was finding it very difficult to drive with a cast on one foot but he had caught a glimpse of Bray and had hopped into the front seat to drive away. He would swing back around to get Roman.

He pulled over as he was in a lot of pain. He reached for his cellphone to call Roman when he saw a car pull up next to him. Bray got out. Ambrose put the car in reverse and hit something. He shifted into drive as he looked back to see what he had hit. He hoped the postal service would forgive him for hitting a mailbox. He hit the gas and clipped Bray Wyatt. That made him feel a lot better.

He swung back toward the hospital entrance and saw Roman standing there.

"You better drive before I hit something else." Ambrose said moving over to the passenger seat.

Roman opened the back door and heaved Seth into it before getting behind the wheel. "What did you hit?"

"A mailbox and Bray Wyatt. I feel sorry for the mailbox.

Seth cracked a smile from the backseat but Roman and Ambrose didn't see it.


	15. What They Don't Know

The Shield decided to crash at Joey Mercury's place figuring the Wyatts might not think of there and Joey had called and offered a place at his apartment.

Ambrose woke up as he felt something touch his ankle. He opened his eyes but didn't see anything right away and then he noticed a blanket.

"Thought you might need that," Joey Mercury said.

"Thanks," he said. "What time is it?"

"Just after midnight. Seth and Roman are already asleep. Everything seems quiet."

"Thanks for letting us stay here tonight." Dean said starting to reach a hand down to scratch his ankle but stopped remembering the cast.

"No problem. I'm in the living room if you need anything." He said and walked out of the room. He had given his bed to Ambrose and one of the couches to the Shield. Roman had opted to sleep on the floor.

"Joey," Ambrose asked as he sat up. Joey stopped in the doorway. "Is Seth…" he wasn't sure how to finish that question.

"Last time I checked he was sleeping," Joey answered. "He did ask me to hide his cellphone." He left.

Dean lay back down on the bed. He wasn't sure if he would be able to go back to sleep that night. He was surprised he had been able to sleep at all. It had been Roman's idea to take Seth with them saying he wanted to keep an eye on him. Seth had protested the whole way to Joey's apartment saying Bray was going to use him to get Ambrose and that's why he had been too scared to answer his cellphone. Dean really wanted to trust his best friend but didn't think he could.

He grabbed his own cellphone which was lying on a night stand. He turned it on and saw he had a new text. It was from a number he didn't recognize. With reluctance he opened up the text. It read:

_Thought you could get away? Hitting me with a car won't stop me._

Ambrose closed the text. His phone started ringing. He knew answering the phone would be a bad idea but he did it anyway. "Hello?"

There was a chuckle. "What's the matter Dean? Can't sleep?"

"What do you want?"

"Well Seth's not answering his phone so I thought I'd call you. Did you get my text?"

Dean hit end and turned his cellphone off. He wasn't in the mood for Bray's mind games. He reached over and grabbed his crutches. He stood up with them and hobbled over to the window and pulled back the curtains. He didn't see anything just darkness. He hobbled out of the room and into the living room. He knew couldn't turn on the light because it would wake up the others. He saw a faint light shining through the bottom of the doorway that led to the kitchen. He carefully hobbled to the kitchen hoping he wouldn't accidently wake someone up. He opened the door and found Seth sitting at the table with his eyes closed. "Seth?"

Seth jumped as he opened his eyes. "Hey," he answered. "I couldn't sleep."

"Me neither," Ambrose said sitting in the chair across from him.

"I'm sure we both can't sleep for the same reason," Seth said, "I don't even trust myself."

"Roman trusts you."

"No he doesn't. He brought me here so could keep an eye on me. Last time I tried to leave the Wyatts attacked me and knocked me out. I bet they are watching us both right now."

Ambrose decided not to tell him about the phone call or text. "If they were they'd probably be trying to kick the door down."

Seth didn't smile. He just looked away.

They sat quietly at the table neither of them speaking. Not long after Roman came into the kitchen.

"You guys couldn't sleep either?" He asked. They shook their heads.

A phone started to ring. Roman pulled his phone out but didn't answer it when he saw the looks on Dean and Seth's faces. He waited for the phone to stop ringing and then turned it off not wanting to deal with Bray either. They sat quietly at the table.

* * *

Later that morning, Seth and Roman were in the apartment. Dean and Joey had gone to the Performance Center after much argument. Vince had called earlier saying he needed to talk to Ambrose and Joey volunteered to take him there. Dean told Seth and Roman they did not need to go. Joey said he would call them if they ran into any trouble.

"Still think it's a bad idea," Seth said as he poured himself a bowl of cereal for breakfast.

"Dean's stubborn you know that. He didn't want us to go with him. They'll be back soon."

* * *

Joey stood at the security area. "This is crazy. Roman is going to kill me."

"I'm meeting Vince," Dean said.

"Yeah in Connecticut," Joey said.

"Shh!" Dean said looking around. "Tell Seth and Roman I'll call them later but say you don't know where I went after I asked you to take me to the airport." He looked at his watch. "I really appreciate this Joey."

"Don't mention it," Joey said. "Just be careful."

Dean grinned and hobbled towards his gate. Joey didn't know this but there was no meeting with Vince. He wasn't even flying to Connecticut. He just wanted to get away from Florida.

* * *

Notes: I'm playing around with the idea of writing a spin off AU of Believe in Evolution where Ambrose does join Evolution. Be on the lookout for that possibility.


	16. Plan B?

Notes: Thanks to Jules for pointing out that I forgot a couple of people in Roman's apartment.

Joey just knew that Roman was going to kill him when he found out he had dropped Ambrose off at the airport. He truly thought Ambrose had lost his mind but his reasoning actually made sense. He parked his car and started to walk through the parking lot. As he walked through the parking lot he saw Roman's car. He wasn't happy about that. He had been hoping for more time to come up with an excuse for where Ambrose was.

"Hello Joey," a voice greeted as he walked into the Performance Center. His blood ran cold when he realized who it was.

"Shit," he muttered under his breath before saying, "hello Vince." He started to walk further into the building when he got a phone call. He went into a quiet area to answer his phone.

"Hello?"

"Did he get to Los Angeles okay?" Punk asked. Last time he had talked to Punk was when he picked up Ambrose, Reigns, and Rollins at Roman's apartment. Punk and AJ had stayed behind at the apartment to deal with the Wyatts if they returned and had opted to stay at a motel over staying in Joey's overcrowded apartment that night.

"What are you talking about?" Joey asked. "He's in Connecticut."

"No," Punk said. "He called me earlier this morning asking if I knew anyone that could give him a ride from LAX. I gave him a phone number for a friend of mine. I tried to talk him out of it but he said he had a meeting in Los Angeles."

"With Vince right?"

"No with the lawyer."

Joey signed. Ambrose was certainly lying to everyone today. "I don't know haven't heard from him. Call me if you do." He said and hung up. Not only had Ambrose fooled Roman and Seth but he had fooled himself and Punk as well. He really didn't want to see Roman and Seth right now.

He went out to where the rings were and ran into Regal.

"Reigns is looking for you," Regal said.

"I figured," Joey said not moving to find the younger man. Regal gave him a funny look before he went back to whatever he was doing.

"Horrible thing that happened to Dean Ambrose's ankle," Regal said, "and they were worried about me working with him," he scoffed.

"Yeah well no one asked me if he was ready to get back into the ring."

"Where's Dean," Roman asked from behind him. Joey slowly turned around. "He didn't come in with you and Vince said he didn't have a meeting."

Joey weighed his options. Ambrose had asked him not to say anything but Ambrose had just lied to him. Well he wasn't going to lie for Ambrose. "We can't talk here." He said to Roman. They walked to a deserted area of the Performance Center. Joey looked around carefully before saying, "Los Angeles. He told me the meeting was actually in Connecticut and didn't want to worry you. I just got a phone call from someone asking me if he got to Los Angeles okay."

Roman glared at him. "Why did you drop him off at the airport?"

"Because I believed him when he said the meeting was in Connecticut and he didn't want to worry you. Vince said he was in Orlando for a short visit so I thought he had gone back."

Roman was so angry at the moment he wanted to punch something really hard. He wasn't sure who more at the moment. Bray, Ambrose, or Joey. He supposed he couldn't completely blame Joey but he was so angry right now. Angry at Bray for everything he had done so far and angry at Ambrose for pulling this stunt. He knew Ambrose didn't trust Seth but did he really need to fly across the country? He took his cellphone out and called Ambrose's phone and it went straight to voice mail.

"Call me as soon as you get this message," Roman said before hanging up.

"Where's Seth," Joey asked.

Roman sighed. "He refused to come here. I hated to leave him alone but I didn't want to leave Ambrose here with people like JBL and Bo Dallas. Too bad I didn't insist on riding with you." He said still glaring.

"I'm really sorry." Joey said. "We can only hope he knows what he's doing."

* * *

Ambrose hobbled outside of the airport his backpack slung over his shoulder. He looked around for his ride. This had to be the strangest ride idea but Punk said he could be trusted. He had called the number while waiting on the runway in Orlando and he had had said he'd pick him up.

A car pulled up. "Need a ride?"

Though they had never met, he had seen enough of his matches to know who he was.

"Christopher Daniels," he said sticking out his hand once Dean was in the car.

"Dean Ambrose," he said shaking his hand. "Thanks for picking me up."

"No problem," Daniels said pulling away from the curb. "Any friend of Punk's must be okay in my book. So where do you want to be dropped off at?"

"I'm not sure. A motel would be great until at I figure out where to go from here."

Daniels left the airport and drove for a bit. "You want to stay near the beach or somewhere out of the way?"

"Out of the way would be great."

"You've got it," Daniels said. They drove for another half hour before he pulled up to a small family owned motel.

"Thanks for the ride," Ambrose said as he got out of the car.

"No problem. Hey call me if you need anything." He said and drove away.

Ambrose hobbled into the motel and up to the front desk.

The person looked up with a smile. "Hello. How may I help you?" She asked.

"I need a room for two nights." He said.

"Well great! I can help you. How many guests?"

"Just one."

She handed him a piece of paper. Ambrose filled it out and handed it back to her. She entered it into the computer.

"Any vehicles?" She asked. He shook his head. She took the credit card. "Okay Mr. Good. I have you in room 106 for two days. I'd normally tell you about the pool but it doesn't look like you'll be using it. I hope you have a nice stay."

"Thanks," he said before hobbling to his room. He only planned to stay there until Monday and catch a flight to RAW. It was going to be along two days.

* * *

In Connecticut, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley was on the phone. "I'm hearing reports that Ambrose has left Florida. It seems you can't do a simple job," she said. "I'm taking you off of it and sending someone who can. You can do whatever you want with Rollins. I don't care." She hung up.

She had given Bray Wyatt enough chances but he just couldn't get the job done. Now it was time for plan B.


	17. In the End Nothing Changes

On Monday flew to Montreal Quebec Canada for RAW. He had been able to relax in Los Angeles once he had turned off and ignored his cellphone. He really hadn't wanted to talk to Reigns. Besides nothing strange had happened to him while in Los Angeles.

When the cab arrived at Bell Centre, Ambrose got out at the wrestlers entrance. He didn't stop to sign autographs for the fans who were waiting at the door.

When he hobbled into the arena, the first person to approach him was Michael Hayes who told him Vince and Dusty wanted to talk to him. Ambrose followed him to Vince's office. When they arrived, he saw that Roman and Seth were already there.

"Have a seat Dean," Vince instructed. Dean sat down but didn't look at his teammates. "It seems there has been some miscommunication going on with you three."

Dean fidgeted in his seat but didn't say anything. How could he even explain why he lied to everyone to Vince? He didn't even want to tell Seth or Roman. "That was my fault," he said at last. He didn't say anything else. Roman and Seth didn't say anything either.

"Look," Vince said, "until we figure out who's all involved, it would probably be best for the three of you to stay together."

"Okay," Seth said.

"Anything else," Ambrose asked.

"Yes," Vince said, "we have looked into what happened in Orlando. From what we can determine, Bo was not working with his brother and was working with JBL. We have fired JBL and are currently looking for a new General Manager for NXT."

Ambrose looked over at Roman who had the same look of disbelief on his face that he felt. They both knew Bo was working with his brother. Ambrose looked over at Seth who was staring off into space.

Dusty spoke up. "Roman you'll be having a match with Mark Henry and Seth you will be wrestling Wade Barrett for the Intercontinental/United States Championship. Dean do you feel up to doing commentary tonight?"

"Yeah," Ambrose said trying to hide his disappointment of hearing that Seth would be wrestling for his title. He knew Seth could win and that he should be happy for him.

The Shield left Vince's office. "Congratulations on the title shot." Dean said as they walked, or hobbled in Dean's case, to their locker room.

"I know it should still be your title…" Seth started to say.

"No it's cool," Dean said, "I'm not exactly ready to return to the ring," he reminded him. "I…" he stopped as he felt like someone was watching them but the locker room was empty of anyone else at the moment.

"You okay," Roman asked.

"Yeah," Dean said, "just jumpy I guess. I'm just going to wear this," he said as he started to leave the locker room. "Good luck," he called. He hobbled over to where Lawler and Cole were standing talking.

"How's the ankle," Lawler asked.

"Okay I guess," Ambrose said shifting his weight. "Remind me to find out who my opponent is related to before I wrestle them."

Cole's brow furrowed in confusion. 'What are they doing here?"

Ambrose turned around as quickly as his crutches let him thinking it was the Wyatts. Who he saw nearly made him drop his crutches.

"Shouldn't they still be in jail?" Lawler asked.

Two security guards walked over to them but Ambrose's eyes were on Randy Orton and Dave Batista.

* * *

For the second time that day, the Shield found themselves in Vince's office. It had taken almost everyone to pull Roman and Seth off of Orton and Batista. Orton and Batista were escorted into a locker room and the Shield had been escorted to Vince's office.

"Do you know why they are here Vince," Dusty asked.

"No," Vince said. "I haven't heard anything about them being released much less coming back to the WWE. I would have never rehired them."

"You hung out with the Wyatts," Ambrose said turning his attention to Seth. "Did you hear anything?"

"No," Seth said shaking his head. "They never talked about anything but…" he trailed off as he looked away. He didn't need to finish that sentence.

"I will be talking to them and they will be escorted from the building. I will have more security guards at ringside as well."

Ambrose looked at his watch. There was still an hour before the fans would be allowed into the building. If that's all, I'm going to get something to eat before the show starts." He said hobbling out of the room with Roman and Seth following behind him.

"Hey," Roman said, "we'll be on the lookout for them. They won't be able to do anything."

Dean gave him a look that plainly said he didn't believe it any more than he did.

* * *

RAW for the most part was uneventful. Roman was able to defeat Mark Henry. It was during the Intercontinental/United States title match that things started to get weird.

Roman accompanied Seth to the ring as he normally would and they waited for Wade Barrett to make his entrance. Instead of Wade's music hitting, the lights went out. Security moved to stand closer to the announce table and closer to Roman as well.

The lights came back up and Wade Barrett was lying in the ring unconscious. The referee, Mike Chioda, didn't know what to do. He signaled for the bell to start the match. Seth stood there staring at the motionless body of Barrett and made the pin. Chioda signaled for the bell. Justin Roberts announced the new champion to the stunned audience.

Roman stood at ringside staring in disbelief as Seth took the titles from Chioda.

The Wyatts music started to play. Bray Wyatt made his way onto the stage with Harper and Rowan following behind him.

Bray had a mic in his hand. "The world can be strange place," he began. "You can start out on a mission and then something can happen that changes everything. But in the end," he continued, "it changes nothing." He said a smile crossing his face as he walked to the ring. Harper went up to Roman and they started fighting. Rowen and Wyatt entered the ring.

Ambrose stood with the aid of the crutches ready to assist Reigns but the activity in the ring made him stop.

Seth tried backing out of the ring but Bray stood there with his arms open.

Seth stood there motionless for a moment before he walked over and embraced Wyatt.


End file.
